Erythrocyte glutathione reductase in iron deficiency anaemia

Role of oxidative stress while controlling iron deficiency anemia during pregnancy - Indian scenario

Iron Deficiency anemia ranks 9(th) among 26 diseases with highest burden. Asia bears 71% of this global burden. Adverse maternal and birth outcome associated with hemoglobin status renders the issue worth attention. Indian scenario has worsened over the period despite continuous international and national efforts. This indicates some lacunae in the approach and strategies applied. Various reports state that even with maximum effort to increase outreach and monitoring for adherence to Iron schedule, consumer's compliance remains abysmally low. Recent studies has pointed out biological basis of side effects (gastrointestinal complains and systemic events) as raised oxidative stress for which iron is the key catalyst. Up till now the only target of research has been to raise hemoglobin of pregnant women above 11gm/dl. With the reports of pregnancy specific morbidities i.e. hemorrhage and septicemia with low hemoglobin, eclampsia, small for gestation age, gestational diabetes with higher ranges of hemoglobin, alarm is raised to define optimum range. Use of oxidative stress as biochemical marker with different doses and schedules has been defined because India lack information for its own population upon oxidative stress status when iron is supplemented as per current guidelines. Studies done in India and abroad have defined that too much and too less, both may raise oxidative stress and studies of this sort may provide biochemical scale for optimization. This review therefore has evaluated currently available Indian research and reports to understand the need of future research area. Important findings from other countries have been incorporated for comparison.

Erythrocyte membrane lipid peroxidation in iron deficiency anemia

Erythrocytes from normal subjects and from cases of iron deficiency anemia were exposed to hydrogen peroxide and the extent of membrane lipid peroxidation studied. Significantly less peroxidation was observed in intact anemic erythrocytes compared to normal. However, when isolated membrane lipids were subjected to peroxidation, there was no significant difference between the two groups. It is unlikely that lipid peroxidation per se plays a major role in the reported decrease in red cell life-span in iron deficiency.

Phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate synthetase and glutathione reductase in erythrocytes from hyperuricaemic and gout patients

The enzymic activities of erythrocyte phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate synthetase (EC 2.7.6.1) and glutathione reductase (EC 1.6.4.2) have been measured in 54 primary gout patients, 35 individuals having hyperuricaemia and 51 healthy controls. Statistical analyses have shown a significant increase (p less than 0.01) in the enzymic activity of erythrocyte PRPP synthetase in both the hyperuricaemic and gout groups compared with the controls. No correlation between activity and age was found in any of the three clinical groups. A significant decrease (p congruent to 0.01) was found in the enzymic activity of red cell glutathione reductase in the gout group compared with the other two groups. The biochemical significance of the changes in enzymic activities of the two enzymes in primary gout is discussed.

Inhibition of riboflavin metabolism in rat tissues by chlorpromazine, imipramine, and amitriptyline

Prompted by recognition of the similar structures of riboflavin (vitamin B(2)), phenothiazine drugs, and tricyclic antidepressants, our studies sought to determine effects of drugs of these two types upon the conversion of riboflavin into its active coenzyme derivative, flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) in rat tissues. Chlorpromazine, a phenothiazine derivative, and imipramine and amitriptyline, both tricyclic antidepressants, each inhibited the incorporation of [(14)C]riboflavin into [(14)C]FAD in liver, cerebrum, cerebellum, and heart. A variety of psychoactive drugs structurally unrelated to riboflavin were ineffective. Chlorpromazine, imipramine, and amitriptyline in vitro inhibited hepatic flavokinase, the first of two enzymes in the conversion of riboflavin to FAD. Evidence was obtained that chlorpromazine administration for a 3- or 7-wk period at doses comparable on a weight basis to those used clinically has significant effects upon riboflavin metabolism in the animal as a whole: (a) the activity coefficient of erythrocyte glutathione reductase, an FAD-containing enzyme used as an index of riboflavin status physiologically, was elevated, a finding compatible with a deficiency state, (b) the urinary excretion of riboflavin was more than twice that of age- and sex-matched pair-fed control rats, and (c) after administration of chlorpromazine for a 7-wk period, tissue levels of flavin mononucleotide and FAD were significantly lower than those of pair-fed littermates, despite consumption of a diet estimated to contain 30 times the recommended dietary allowance. The present study suggests that certain psychotropic drugs interfere with riboflavin metabolism at least in part by inhibiting the conversion of riboflavin to its coenzyme derivatives, and that as a consequence of such inhibition, the overall utilization of the vitamin is impaired.

Protein-calorie malnutrition: a study of red blood cell and serum enzymes during and after crisis

This paper reports a study of changes in red blood cell enzymes and some serum parameters during and after treatment of protein-calorie malnutrition. The red cell GSH levels were low during the crisis, together with the levels of GSSG:NADPH reductase, GSH:H2O2 peroxidase, aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase. After treatment the levels of all these enzymes increased significantly to normal values. Of the serum parameters investigated, significant reduction in the activity of the enzymes cholinesterase, catecholamine oxidase, total proteins, albumin, urea and electrolytes were obvious, and returned to normal values after treatment. Ceruloplasmin activity remained low even after three weeks' treatment and could not be related to copper levels. The results are discussed in relation to anemia and liver damage that may accompany the syndrome.